Pretreatment of Oils and Fats for Biodiesel Production with GEA Westfalia Separator
GEA Mechanical Equipment / GEA Westfalia Separator
Liquids to Value
Together We Start the Engine of ProgressThe pretreatment of oils and fats is one of the most important criteria for the production of high-quality biodiesel. GEA Westfalia Separator offers you complete process lines for achieving optimum quality in your chemical or physical refining processes.
Biodiesel is one of the industrial products with a sig-
nificant potential prospect. However, a key criterion
of success is combustion properties which can com-
pete with conventional diesel. In order to realize these
properties, oils and fats which are to be transesterified
into biodiesel initially have to be subjected to a spe-
cial refining process. Only such pretreatment is able
to remove the substances that are undesirable in the
subsequent products biodiesel and glycerin.
Maximum efficiencyChemical and physical refining processes, in which
separators play a key role, have become established
for this purpose. GEA Westfalia Separator offers you
not only stand-alone machines but also complete
process lines for maximum efficiency. These process
lines set standards in terms of quality and efficiency,
irrespective of the method which you use in your
operation.
Benefits of pretreatment: Highest glycerin quality through reduction of
the impurities
Improvement of the availability of the plant
through reduction of the gums and the resulting
caking in the thermal glycerin process
Higher economy of the plant through
discharging less phosphate into the waste water
Higher glycerin yield due to a lower MONG
content (Material Organic Non-Glycerol) through
lowest free fatty acid content
Optimum cold stability of the biodiesel through
reduction of the wax content
Advantages of complete process lines: Fully continuous operation
Outputs of 50 to 1,600 tonnes per day
Biodiesel of the highest quality
Simple process management
Low operating costs
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GEA Westfalia Separator
Self-cleaning RSE separator in
explosion-proof design in
conformity with ATEX regulations
Alkaline Refining: Traditional Process for all Kinds of Oils and Fats Alkaline refi ning is a tried-and-tested method which yields a top-quality starting product for the production of biodiesel with very low upfront costs: even in the case of lower-grade oils and fats. The fatty acids in the so-called soapstock can berecovered using a soap splitting method.
An operator who uses alkaline refining enjoys the
advantages of a tried-and-tested method which re-
moves free fatty acids, gums and impurities. Two dif-
ferent process alternatives have become established:
Standard neutralization with which virtually
all oil and fat types can be treated, with the
exception of castor oil
Cold neutralization with which oils containing
wax (e. g. sunflower oil) can also be winterized
at the same time as being neutralized.
This process prevents precipitations of waxes
in the biodiesel at low temperatures.
The process lines of GEA Westfalia Separator can be
configured to handle every crude oil quality. Even if
lower quality oil is processed, the individual acid and
lye-treatment can be adapted to the crude oil qual-
ity.
However, soapstock cannot be avoided in this pro-
cess; this is a by-product which has to be disposed of.
Soap splitting enables the fatty acids in the soapstock
to be recovered.
The process – an overview: High product quality
Also processes lower quality oils and
fats reliably (with the exception of castor oil)
Low investment costs
Ease of operation
Can also be used for production of edible oil
Disposal of soapstock is necessary
Crude oil
Degummed deacidified oil
Soapstock Soapstocksplitting
Acid Heat
Free fatty acids
Acid water
Acid
Caustic
Water
Alkalineneutralization
Transesterification
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GEA Westfalia Separator
Steam Acid Lye Water
Crude oil
Neutral oil
Wash waterSoapstockCondensate
Vacuum
2-stage neutralization
Steam
Acid Lye
Chilled waterCrude oil
Neutralized and dewaxed oil
Wash water
Hot water
WaterSeparator
Sludge
Mixer
Crystallizer
Separator
Sludge
Vacuum
Vacuum dryer
MixerMixer
Holding tank
Soapstock / wax
Cold refining
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GEA Westfalia Separator
Physical Refining: Proven Technology for High FFA OilsWith physical refining, the content of free fatty acids can be removed by distillation. The advantage is fewer losses and direct production of free fatty acid without an additional process stage (soapstock splitting). The basic requirement in this respect is prior optimum degumming. GEA Westfalia Separator offers process lines for such degumming, for every desired processing capacity.
With so-called “TOP degumming”, GEA Westfalia
Separator offers a special degumming process which
provides significant advantages compared with con-
ventional methods. The physical alternative however
involves higher investment and energy costs.
The advantages in general: Good quality of fatty acids
Can also be used in conjunction with a
high content of free fatty acids
Low losses with a high content of
free fatty acids
Advantages of the TOP method: Low residual gum content (< 10 ppm)
and phosphatide content
Short reaction time – simple change of product
No additional wash water discharge / low
losses of oil
Less emulsion in the transesterification process
due to low P content
Lower caustic consumption
Small required space
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GEA Westfalia Separator
Crude oil
Degummed deacidified oil
Physical deacidification
Acid
Caustic
Water
DegummingTOP process
Transesterification
Free fatty acids
Gums
TOP degumming
Steam Acid Caustic WaterHoldingtank
Vacuum
Vacuumdryer
Degummed oil
Sludge
ClarifierSeparatorGums
Sludge
Mixer
MixerMixerCondensateCrude oil
Holdingtank
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GEA Westfalia Separator
Single-Stage Alcohol Neutralization:Consistent Process IntegrationAlcohol refining from GEA Westfalia Separator is an alternative which achieves even greater efficiency. The process line in biodiesel technology uses a secondary stream of the transesterification stages for pretreating the oils. Completely effluent- and waste-free.
The main characteristic of this process is its logical
consistency. By-products from the transesterification
process are used for pretreating the crude oils. In this
way, the consumption of chemicals and steam can be
reduced, with the additional advantage of simultane-
ous recovery of by-products. All of these advantages
are available at low investment costs.
Direct integration in your biodiesel installationA further major advantage of alcohol refining is that
the process line is completely integrated in your
biodiesel installation. All components have been
designed perfectly to meet the requirements of the
installation so that pretreatment of the oils and fats
is combined directly with the actual production of
biodiesel.
The advantages of this simple process: Optimum neutralization and degumming
of oils and fats
Low investment costs
Recovery of free fatty acids
Given a normal seed oil quality, no additional
caustic soda is necessary for neutralization
Low steam consumption as no drying required
Perfect for crude oil with low gum content
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GEA Westfalia Separator
Crude Oil
Alcoholneutralisation
Transesterification
Heavy phase
Soap splitting
Glycerol-processing
Methylester
Free fatty acids
Discharge of 1. reaction stage transesterification
Heavy phase from alcohol neutralisation
Alcohol refining
SteamAcid /methanol
Alkaline /methanol
Glycerin / alcohol / alkali-mixturefrom transesterification
Neutralised and degummedoil to transesterification
SoapstockCondensate
Crude oil
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GEA Westfalia Separator
Two-Stage Alcohol Neutralization: Maximum Yield and Product Quality with Minimum CostAlcohol refi ning has even more advantages to offer in the 2-stage version.
Crude oils with a higher gum content ought to be
degummed before alcohol refining. This avoids the
phosphatides impairing the quality of the glycerine
phase. Some crude oils, e.g. sunflower oil, also have
long-chain fatty alcohols (waxes) which have a nega-
tive impact on the cold stability of biodiesel. The
waxes can be removed by way of cold degumming.
Advantages of the 2-stage versioncombined with pre-degumming:
Lower investment costs compared with
traditional methods
Lower steam consumption
Good glycerin quality as the phosphatides
are removed in pre-degumming
No additional waste water and no additional
soapstock splitting
Easy processing of free fatty acids with
excellent quality
Everything argues in favour of process lines from GEA Westfalia Separator:
Pretreatment is necessary in order to avoid
problems in transesterification and in the
production of glycerin
The processes can be adapted flexibly to meet
the specific requirements of the customer
Special adjustment to the specific requirements
of biodiesel production
Crude oil
Pre-degumming
Transesterification Methyl ester
Heavy phase
Soap splitting
Alcohol neutralization
Glycerol-processing
Gums
Discharge of1. reaction stagetransesterification
Heavy phasefrom alcoholneutralization
Free fatty acids
Special degumming plus alcohol neutralization
Steam Acid Caustic
Caustic / methanol
Crude oil
Neutral oil /methanol
GumsCondensate
Glycerin / methanol /water / soap / gumsWater Steam
Condensate
Glycerin / alcohol /alkaline
Acid Chilled water
Chilled water outCrude oil
CondensateGum / waxes
Heavy phase from the transesterification
Neutralized and dewaxed oil
Water out
Cold degumming plus alcohol neutralization
Lye Water Tempered water
Soap / glycerin water to fat splitting
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GEA Westfalia Separator
Wherever separating technology tasks have to be
carried out, Westfalia Separator® capitalcare assures
comprehensive services right from the very begin-
ning. In close cooperation with the customer, solutions
are identified to meet their needs.
The partners benefit not only from traditional ser-
vices such as inspection, maintenance, original spare
parts and repair work provided by the original manu-
facturer; they also benefit from pro-active solutions
which avoid risk, e.g. online and offline monitoring
with Westfalia Separator® wewatch®.
Accompanying modernisation or upgrading to state-
of-the-art technology also offer the option of boosting
performance as required.
Training provided on site or in the modern training
centre of GEA Westfalia Separator ensures that the
customer‘s employees receive training in the proper
handling of the high-tech installations. This provides
additional safety.
Authorized workshops worldwideAnd if problems occasionally occur or if a spare part
is required at short notice, the specialists are able to
attend to the customer quickly. This is ensured by a
global network with more than 50 sales and service
companies as well as 60 further sales partners. Au-
thorized workshops are able to service every location
in the world at short notice.
Westfalia Separator® capitalcare combines decades of service experience for mechani-cal separation technology.
Westfalia Separator® capitalcare – Maximum Process Efficiency, Installation Availability and Budget Security
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GEA Westfalia Separator
Maximum availability
Permanent efficiency
Absolute budget reliability
In addition to traditional services such as maintenance or repair, Westfalia Separator® capitalcare also provides solutions which avoid risk and with which the installation availability can be pro-actively assured.
Westfalia Separator® capitalcare accordingly makes
for maximum process efficiency and installation
availability as well as budget security. And these ben-
efits are provided throughout the entire life cycle of
the entire installation.
Service from the original manufacturer: Service engineers quickly on site
Extensive service network
Risk avoided by service provided
by the original manufacturer
Pro-active solutions which avoid risk
Upgrading to boost performance
Staff training
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GEA Westfalia Separator
Call us now. The specialists from GEA Westfalia Separator will provide you with comprehensive information about pre-treatment of oils and fats for biodiesel production. The dis-cussion does not commit you but will prove to be beneficial in terms of your decision to invest!
For Good Cooperation: Claiming the TOP! If you wish to permanently improve your added value with GEA Westfalia Separator, please talk to us about the current process lines available and their possibilities. You can take the first step by completing the fax form. We look forward to talking to you.
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GEA Westfalia Separator
Fax to: +49 2522 77-2384 GEA Westfalia SeparatorSimply make a copy of the form, complete it, and fax it through.
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of pretreatment of oils and fats for biodiesel production
We are interested in the following:
Alkaline refining
Physical refining
Alcohol refining
Or please send your request to [email protected]
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GEA Westfalia Separator
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The information contained in this brochure merely serves as a non-binding description of our products and is without guarantee.
Binding information, in particular relating to capacity data and suitability for specific applications, can only be provided within the framework of concrete inquiries.
Westfalia®, Westfalia Separator ® and wewatch® are registered trademarks of GEA Westfalia Separator GmbH.
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